Jesus & Mary Chain Stoned & Dethroned CD

Since 1985, Glasgow brothers William and Jim Reid (aka The Jesus & Mary Chain) have immersed themselves in a wash of pop references as akin to Lou Reed's TRANSFORMER as to the Beach Boys' earliest singles. While more subdued, and painted in acoustic strokes, Jesus & Mary Chain's newest effort STONED & DETHRONED continues the band's mutation of pop's melodic sense.

STONED & DETHRONED is a step in a new direction for the Reids. Much of their early material seemed like a mixture of conflicting eras, bubblegum harmonies layered on top of impossible distorted guitar. Now with STONED & DETHRONED, The Jesus & Mary Chain have honed their erratic opposing sides into a cleaner, more focused sound.

Relying more on acoustics and softer production, the album sounds aimed at the MTV "Unplugged" audience, but proves the Jesus & Mary Chain adept in the power of quiet as well as the joy of distortion.

Having made a name for itself through its career for punishing noise combined with candy-coated hooks, the Jesus and Mary Chain took a sideways step on Stoned & Dethroned that actually worked rather handsomely. The Reids turned the emphasis toward much calmer, acoustic folk/country-tinged songs and, for the first time since Psychocandy, recorded with an actual full band, with Monti from Curve once again doing the drum honors and touring bassist Ben Lurie handling the same duties in studio. The appearance of Hope Sandoval on lead single "Sometimes Always" makes perfect sense, as Mazzy Star's electric/acoustic psych flow is, if not the inspiration for Stoned & Dethroned, a close enough cousin. "Sometimes Always" does indeed make for a lovely little duet, not quite a Lee & Nancy combination for a new generation, but a fine romp anyway, while on the other guest number Shane Macgowan from the Pogues takes a nicely mournful lead turn on "God Help Me." As for the album in general, the songs are much more than simply a toned-down Mary Chain -- it's almost as if the group were making its bid to finally demonstrate that it really was comprised of actual musicians, honest to goodness. What feedback there is appears as smoky atmosphere rather than skull-crushing scream, and oddly enough the end results almost suggest early-'70s Rolling Stones more than anything else, tinged as always with pure pop hooks and melodies. William's singing actually comes more to the fore than before, his warmer, less sneering vocals suiting the burned-out feeling of the album very nicely. A few songs could easily be full-on monsters -- the brief "Come On" and the almost uplifting "Girlfriend" in particular -- but, by and large, the drama is implicit rather than explicit. ~ Ned Raggett

All songs written by members of Jesus & Mary Chain.

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Steve Monti, William Reid, Ben Lurie, Jim Reid.

Personnel: William Reid (vocals, acoustic & electric guitar); Jim Reid (vocals, guitar, bass, percussion); Ben Lurie (guitar, harmonica, organ, bass); Steve Monti (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Hope Sandoval, Shane MacGowan.

Additional personnel: Shane MacGowan, Hope Sandoval (vocals).

Rolling Stone (12/15/94, pp.94-95) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...When it comes to writing candy-coated pop songs for sex-death-and-Jesus-obsessed-would-be junkies, nobody touches the Chain..."
Spin (11/94, pp.94-95) - Highly Recommended - "...STONED & DETHRONED is the first album since DARKLANDS the Chain has aimed at pot smokers rather than crackheads....They sing, their heads no longer bowed in shame or drug-induced nod-outs, but in earnest piety..."
Entertainment Weekly (9/30/94, p.60) - "...hearken back to the quiet acoustics of their second record DARKLANDS. Here, as usual, they distill rock into catchy power chords and kindergarten rhymes..." - Rating: B+
Q (9/94, p.102) - 3 Stars - Good - "...The all-jinglin', all-janglin' Mary Chain are certainly a more loveable beast..."
Alternative Press (10/94, p.84) - "...may even stand revealed one day as the Chain's most well-rounded effort..."
Option (11-12/94, p.124) - "...The Reid brothers sound as lispy, shimmery and crisp as ever, only this time they are fixated with finding redemption and shaking off addiction...which they convey with a poignant sense of understatement..."
NME (Magazine) (8/13/94, p.44) - 8 - Excellent - "...It could be Iggy Pop's country album or Bob Dylan's Lou Reed tribute. Certainly, the most common point of reference is the Velvets of `Jesus' and `I'm Set Free' melancholia rather than violence..."